Team Blast: Holiday Hours

Hi ,

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

Holiday Hours: FIRST^® will be closing at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, June 30, and remain closed the week of July 3 in recognition of the U.S. Independence holiday. Regular business hours will resume on Monday, July 10, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Deadline! Regrants: Team leads for U.S. teams that have a credit balance in their FIRST account must submit regrant requests before June 30, 2023. Some teams may have funds still available in their FIRST accounts, and we want to ensure that they capture those funds. If not regranted, any of the remaining funds are re-designated based on sponsor intent. See the regrant policies and procedures page for more details and send any questions to grantsapproval@firstinspires.org.

Summer Learning Using Thinkscape: Are you looking to help your team increase knowledge and improve students' learning for their future careers? If you want the content to keep students engaged in the off-season, the Thinkscape courses are designed to help students gain skills to support their FIRST team within the team role. Read more in this FIRST^® Robotics Competition blog post.

FIRST Updates

Youth Protection Screening Renewal Reminder: A current Youth Protection Screening is required to volunteer, access your team’s roster, opt out of the Drive Base & Black Tote (veteran teams), and other important tasks throughout the season. Screenings expire every four (4) years, and you can check your screening status in the FIRST Dashboard. If your screening is expired, order your renewal screening now! For assistance, please contact Team Support Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. ET via email, calling (603) 666-3906, or live chat.

Community Engagement

Apply to be a FIRST Diary of an Innovator Team by Friday, June 30! We are inspired by how teams work together to innovate throughout the FIRST season, and we want to highlight the FIRST innovation journey teams embark on! We are encouraging ALL teams to apply to be a Diary of an Innovator team. Selected teams will be asked to submit quarterly updates about their season that will be shared with the FIRST community on our social media channels. We will select four teams from each program to be a Diary of an Innovator team. Click here to apply to become a Diary of an Innovator Team. Selected teams will be contacted by FIRST in July.